duncan228
02-07-2010, 01:32 AM
Hot Hill ignites Spurs' blowout (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Pop_says_Bowen_no_cure-all.html)
Jeff McDonald
LOS ANGELES — Before George Hill left for the summer following his rookie season with the Spurs, his coaches sent him home to Indianapolis with quite a going away present.
It was a stat sheet that showed he had been one of the team’s worst open jump shooters that year. That realization had a profound impact on Hill.
“They always say numbers don’t lie,” Hill said. “I knew I could make those shots. It was just a confidence thing, second-guessing it. I saw a lot of that when I watched film in the summer.”
There was no second-guessing what Hill did in Saturday’s 98-81 clobbering of the Clippers at the Staples Center.
Hill scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting — including 17 in the first quarter that were the most by a Spurs player in a single quarter this season — to set the fuse on the rout.
It would have been a career high for Hill, except he had scored 23 in a victory at Sacramento two games before.
“This year, I’m just trying to shoot it with confidence,” Hill said.
Tony Parker added 14 points and a season-high 14 assists for the Spurs, who led by as many as 31 in the second half.
The Spurs (29-20) improved to 2-1 on their annual rodeo trip, which resumes in the same building Monday against the Lakers.
Hill’s hard work in the summertime — which often included three sessions a day in his old gym at Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis — paid off handsomely again Saturday.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich calls Hill, the 26th overall pick in the 2008 draft, “probably the most improved player in the whole league.”
Hill is averaging 11 points this season and 15.3 as a starter. Asked what the second-year guard has improved specifically, Popovich rattled off a list that only began with shooting.
“Every place,” Popovich said. “Jump shot. Confidence. Knowledge of the pick and roll. Three-point shot. Awareness of what’s going on on the court. Everything. He’s a hell of a player.”
Hill’s fast start essentially ruined Kim Hughes’ debut as the Clippers’ interim coach. Preparing for his first game in place of Mike Dunleavy, who stepped away from the bench Thursday, Hughes said he couldn’t bear to view film of the Spurs’ first visit to the Staples Center this season, a Dec. 13 game the Clippers lost 115-90.
“When we were down 31 in the fourth quarter, I decided to turn it off,” Hughes said.
Instead, Hughes watched the sequel Saturday. Hill was responsible for most of the déjà vu, hitting 6 of 7 shots and three 3-pointers during a first quarter that saw the Spurs race to a 28-10 lead.
The 10 points the Clippers managed were the fewest the Spurs had allowed in a quarter this season. Likewise, the 27 L.A. scored before intermission was the fewest the Spurs had yielded in a half.
The Clippers walked off the court at the half, behind 49-27, to a chorus of boos.
Before the game, Popovich praised Hill as the team’s most consistent player this season outside of perennial All-Star Tim Duncan. That’s the main reason Hill has remained in the starting lineup at shooting guard, even after Parker came back to reclaim the point guard slot.
“He’s given us the most for the minutes, so we think he needs to be on the floor,” Popovich said.
His ability to toggle between point and shooting guard helps keep Hill there. So does his blue-collar approach to the game.
At times, it is as if he’s still back in that sweltering high school gym in Indianapolis, trying to earn his NBA stripes. Hill’s hard work has paid off, but it also never ends.
“I’m still learning,” Hill said. “That’s the best thing, knowing you’re not as good as you can be.”
Jeff McDonald
LOS ANGELES — Before George Hill left for the summer following his rookie season with the Spurs, his coaches sent him home to Indianapolis with quite a going away present.
It was a stat sheet that showed he had been one of the team’s worst open jump shooters that year. That realization had a profound impact on Hill.
“They always say numbers don’t lie,” Hill said. “I knew I could make those shots. It was just a confidence thing, second-guessing it. I saw a lot of that when I watched film in the summer.”
There was no second-guessing what Hill did in Saturday’s 98-81 clobbering of the Clippers at the Staples Center.
Hill scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting — including 17 in the first quarter that were the most by a Spurs player in a single quarter this season — to set the fuse on the rout.
It would have been a career high for Hill, except he had scored 23 in a victory at Sacramento two games before.
“This year, I’m just trying to shoot it with confidence,” Hill said.
Tony Parker added 14 points and a season-high 14 assists for the Spurs, who led by as many as 31 in the second half.
The Spurs (29-20) improved to 2-1 on their annual rodeo trip, which resumes in the same building Monday against the Lakers.
Hill’s hard work in the summertime — which often included three sessions a day in his old gym at Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis — paid off handsomely again Saturday.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich calls Hill, the 26th overall pick in the 2008 draft, “probably the most improved player in the whole league.”
Hill is averaging 11 points this season and 15.3 as a starter. Asked what the second-year guard has improved specifically, Popovich rattled off a list that only began with shooting.
“Every place,” Popovich said. “Jump shot. Confidence. Knowledge of the pick and roll. Three-point shot. Awareness of what’s going on on the court. Everything. He’s a hell of a player.”
Hill’s fast start essentially ruined Kim Hughes’ debut as the Clippers’ interim coach. Preparing for his first game in place of Mike Dunleavy, who stepped away from the bench Thursday, Hughes said he couldn’t bear to view film of the Spurs’ first visit to the Staples Center this season, a Dec. 13 game the Clippers lost 115-90.
“When we were down 31 in the fourth quarter, I decided to turn it off,” Hughes said.
Instead, Hughes watched the sequel Saturday. Hill was responsible for most of the déjà vu, hitting 6 of 7 shots and three 3-pointers during a first quarter that saw the Spurs race to a 28-10 lead.
The 10 points the Clippers managed were the fewest the Spurs had allowed in a quarter this season. Likewise, the 27 L.A. scored before intermission was the fewest the Spurs had yielded in a half.
The Clippers walked off the court at the half, behind 49-27, to a chorus of boos.
Before the game, Popovich praised Hill as the team’s most consistent player this season outside of perennial All-Star Tim Duncan. That’s the main reason Hill has remained in the starting lineup at shooting guard, even after Parker came back to reclaim the point guard slot.
“He’s given us the most for the minutes, so we think he needs to be on the floor,” Popovich said.
His ability to toggle between point and shooting guard helps keep Hill there. So does his blue-collar approach to the game.
At times, it is as if he’s still back in that sweltering high school gym in Indianapolis, trying to earn his NBA stripes. Hill’s hard work has paid off, but it also never ends.
“I’m still learning,” Hill said. “That’s the best thing, knowing you’re not as good as you can be.”